February 11, 2005
Then it's Coffee Time!
That's one of the first orders of the day -- getting some java going. I have a grinder, courtesy of Tonya Connell, longtime friend and early subscriber to Heaven's Metal Magazine, amateur hockey player, and wife of Mike Connell, who was the drummer for the San Antonio Christian metal band, TNK (The Noble Knights). I'll grind some beans, put 'em in a filter (one heeping teaspoon for every cup I'm going to drink -- and one "cup" equals about 8 ounces, the equivalent of what would fit in one of those annoyingly small styrofoam cups you'll find served at auto repair shops or church sunday school kitchen rooms). I usually down about 4 cups (which fits into one big coffee mug) per day.
I feel about 10 pounds lighter today than I did yesterday, because I finished the deadline for another issue of Heaven's Metal Fanzine. This is going to be a good issue. I felt especially drained, because this deadline came on the heals of my last deadline with HM Magazine, so it felt like I was jumping from one to another. But it's over now and I'm already planning the next issue with some friendly metalheads.
In 1 Samuel 16 we see the Lord instruct Samuel in anointing the next king of Israel. Most of us remember how David's dad, Jesse, paraded his older sons before the prophet Samuel. Each one was rejected or passed over. At last he brought up David, after Samuel inquired if he had any other sons. The lesson many of us learn is that God judges by the heart, not outward appearance. Even though David's older brothers were bigger and looked the part, God knew David's heart was perfect for the job.
One thing I noticed for the first time when reading this is that, for those that judge truth-telling strictly, God instructed His prophet to deceive people. That's right. He told Samuel to tell a half-truth (not an outright lie, but missing the whole truth) about coming "to sacrifice before the Lord," which was really just an excuse so that Samuel's actions to anoint a new king wouldn't arouse suspicion from King Saul. Isn't that funny? How often I have maybe felt guilty by someone holding the standard of telling "the whole truth and nothing but the truth," when in fact, under certain circumstances, God could lead someone to trick someone else with half the story, so to speak. I'm reminded of the time when David broke the law by eating at a time and place that wasn't lawful, but Jesus used it as an example to show that the sabbath was made for man; and not man for the sabbath.
God is to be taken seriously, and obedience is very important; but I think jumping to conclusions and judging others for actions that appear from our perspective to be wrong can be a stupid mistake.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at February 11, 2005 02:58 PM